Charlie and Finnegan nodded. Josh laughed again. Despite the situation, he felt powerful. Or was he laughing at the others because he was thinking like a z? He didn’t know, and he didn’t care. He was having a great time.
They kept moving. In the fourth chamber they found a single zombie. Dressed in overalls, it was just wandering around holding a wrench in its hand. Charlie torched it without any trouble.
As they headed up the steps to the final length of tunnel, Finnegan stopped. “Maybe one of us should wait here,” he said.
Josh turned around. “Why?”
“The hatch got shut after we left the chamber,” Finnegan reminded him. “If one of us stays here, we can at least make sure no one messes with it from this side.”
“That’s a good point,” Bess agreed. “You stay here. The three of us will go on.”
“He’s afraid,” Josh said to Charlie as they walked into the tunnel.
Charlie nudged him with her elbow. “Don’t make fun of him,” she said, but Josh heard her giggle.
“Oh no!” Josh said, imitating Finnegan’s voice. “A zombie! Seamus, help me!”
Again Charlie giggled, but this time Bess turned around and shushed them. “Keep it down,” she ordered. “You never know when—”
A sudden rumbling interrupted her. The tunnel shook slightly, making the water slosh from side to side.
“The main line!” Charlie yelped. “It’s filling up!”
“Go!” said Bess, pushing them. “Back to the flood chamber!”
Josh stumbled as he tried to run through the water. It seemed to be pulling at him, holding him back. Behind him he heard a low growling.
“The water is coming,” said Charlie. “Hurry!”
They reached the chamber, where they found Finnegan standing on the steps. “Is it the main?” he asked.
“Get the hatch shut!” Bess barked. “That will stop it.”
Finnegan grabbed the lever and pulled. It broke off in his hand, leaving just a stub of metal. He looked at it helplessly. Josh ran over and pushed him out of the way. Grabbing the short length of metal, he pulled as hard as he could. The jagged end of the broken lever cut into his palm, and blood ran down his wrist. The lever didn’t move.
“There’s no time,” said Bess. “And we can’t get back to the third chamber. We have to go up.”
As she spoke, more water surged in through the tunnel. Finnegan let out a frightened squeak and ran for the ladder affixed to the wall beside the open hatch door. He dropped his flamethrower and started climbing, ignoring the rest of them. Josh watched his head disappear into the hole in the ceiling.
“Does he know where he’s going?” he asked Bess.
“None of us do,” Bess said. “Just go. We’ll figure it out.”
Josh waited for Charlie to start up the ladder, then motioned for Bess to follow her. Bess shook her head. “I’m the team leader,” she said. “I go last. And don’t argue. We don’t have time.”
Josh looked at the water, which was rising more quickly than he thought it would. Already the steps were covered, and even as he watched it rose another inch.
He slung his flamethrower over his shoulder and started up the ladder, ignoring the pain in his wounded hand. Ahead of him Charlie was passing through the hole in the ceiling. Josh wondered what was waiting for them there.
He found out a moment later when he emerged into a small space. Instead of going up further, as he’d expected it to, the ladder ended there, and another tunnel continued off to the left. Charlie was moving through it on her hands and knees.
Josh heard Bess come up behind him. “What’s the holdup?” she shouted. “This place is about to turn into a swimming pool.”
Josh moved as quickly as he could, sliding into the tunnel. He heard Bess start to follow him. Then she yelped in surprise.
“A z has me!” she called to Josh.
Unable to turn around in the tunnel, Josh bowed his head and tried to look through his legs. He saw Bess’s startled face for a moment, illuminated by the light of her flamethrower. Then she was pulled backward.
“Josh!” she cried.
Josh heard the mumbled moaning of a z. It was dragging Bess back to the hole in the ceiling.
“Kick!” Josh shouted.
“I’m trying!” Bess shouted back. “It won’t let go!”
Josh didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t turn around. He couldn’t maneuver his flamethrower in the small space. Even if he could get to it, he couldn’t shoot past Bess.
He could hear Bess ramming her foot into the z. She was also shouting at it to let go. Josh looked ahead. Somewhere in the darkness Charlie and Finnegan were still crawling. Calling to them wouldn’t help, though—they couldn’t turn around either.
It was up to him.
Just as he was trying to formulate a plan he felt something wet against his knees. Water, he thought vaguely. Water is coming in.
Behind him Bess choked. Then she screamed. “It bit me!” she yelled.
The water was coming in more quickly now. Josh realized that the flood chamber must have filled up and the water was being forced into the tunnel. But surely someone must know they were trapped in there, and would somehow reroute the water. They wouldn’t just be allowed to die.
“Josh! Go!” Bess called out. She choked again. “My body will block some of the water, but not for long.”
“I’m not just leaving you here!” Josh yelled.
“I’m bit,” said Bess, her voice softer now. “Just leave me.”
“It’s a game!” Josh said, becoming more frantic as the water rose past his hands. “The bite doesn’t matter. But if you don’t move now, you’re going to drown.”
“Josh, listen to me.” Bess’s voice was eerily calm. “I’m the squad leader, and I’m telling you to go.”
Josh started to argue, but something in Bess’s voice told him not to. Besides, his survival instinct was screaming at him to move. “I’ll get help,” he told Bess. “We’ll be back.”
He crawled forward as quickly as he could. The rough metal scraped his palms raw, and he could feel the water rising quickly. It was almost up to his chest now, and in another minute or two he wouldn’t be able to breathe. He tried not to think about Bess. It’s going to be all right, he told himself, repeating it over and over as he scrambled through the black tunnel.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever. Then it opened up into a square shaft maybe three feet on each side. The shaft rose straight up, a ladder attached to one wall. Above him Josh saw a tiny point of light.
“Charlie?” he yelled. “Charlie, is that you?”
“Josh!” Charlie’s voice echoed down the shaft. “Hurry! There’s a tunnel up here that we think leads back to the surface.”
The water pouring into the shaft was filling it up quickly. Josh grabbed the ladder and started climbing, staying just a few steps ahead of the water. When he reached the top, he saw Charlie.
“Come on!” Charlie yelled, grabbing his hand. “Where’s Bess?”
Josh shook his head. Charlie froze, horror crossing her face. Then Finnegan yelled at them to hurry, and she moved. Josh followed as they ran through yet another tunnel, this one built out of brick.
“How do you know this takes us back to the surface?” Josh asked as they ran.
“There was a diagram on the wall back there,” said Finnegan. “Right up here should be a set of stairs.”
Moments later the stairs came into view. But blocking them was a z, a big man whose muscled body was bleeding from multiple wounds, as if he’d been tearing at his own skin. Seeing the three Torchers, he lurched toward them.